A convicted sex offender from Northampton who locked a teenage girl in a room and then kissed and hugged her has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.

Lee Darlington, aged 25, appeared at Northampton Crown Court after he admitted a charge of sexual assault.

Caroline Bray, prosecuting, said Darlington told the girl she was needed in an upstairs room and, after she had followed him in, locked the door.

Mrs Bray said Darlington then asked her a series of intimate questions, which made the girl feel uncomfortable.

She said: “The girl felt very uneasy and uncomfortable and did not know how to handle the situation.”

The court heard Darlington then asked for a hug, which the girl described as “long and awkward”.

He then asked for a second hug, which the girl refused, but he clamped his legs round her so she could not move.

Mrs Bray said Darlington then “cupped her head and face” and kissed her against her will.

The court heard the girl then made a run for the door and Darlington then unlocked it.

Darlington pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault at Northampton Magistrates’ Court last month.

Mrs Bray said Darlington had previously been sentenced to 16 months in a young offenders institution after he was convicted of having sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl in 2010.

Darlington, of Javelin Close, Duston, Northampton, was also given a nine-month suspended prison sentence in December 2014 after he breached his sexual offences order by failing to notify police of a change in his circumstances.

The latest offence was therefore a breach of the suspended sentence order, which was due to finish in December this year.

Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking sentenced Darlington to 16 months in prison plus another four months, to be served consecutively, for the breach of his suspended sentence.

He will be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the next 10 years.